IAB UK analysis demonstrates digital display is effective across all metrics!

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The IAB UK commissioned a meta-analysis report in an effort to understand the level of effectiveness of digital display advertising campaigns.

In collaboration with Kantar Millward Brown, OnDevice Research and Research and Analysis of Media (RAM), the analysis collated results from 675 individual campaigns from 2008 through 2017.

The metrics used in the analysis measured the effectiveness for four main marketing objectives - awareness, brand perception, education and sales intent across each of the campaigns.

“As we looked at all 675 digital display advertising campaigns from the three research suppliers, without specially selecting or omitted any, we got a representative view of digital display advertising as a whole,” said Tim Elkington, Chief Digital Officer at the IAB UK.

Analysis reveals that on average, digital display advertising is effective across all metrics, raising brand awareness by up to 12%, positively shifting brand perceptions by 2%, educating people about a brand by 2% and driving purchase intent by 3%.

Elkington added, “The overall average scores were really positive, but obviously the average represents a broad range of results and some campaigns increased brand metrics by as much as 55%. This demonstrated that to get the best possible results you still need to plan and execute campaigns with care and use compelling creative.” 

Alistair Hill, CEO and co-founder of On Device Research said, “It's no secret that a short-termism in how we measure digital impact is still pervasive in a market which still erroneously talks about click through rates in the context of brand spend. Brand metric shifts are linked to long term brand health and digital has a clear weight in shifting the dial."

The analysis also showed that digital banners and digital videos are both effective formats, and campaigns can be effective using either single or multiple creatives. 

“In today's competitive media landscape, it is even more important for advertisers to understand the different benefits that each media channel can provide. The IAB’s analysis of this data clearly highlights that digital advertising can deliver across key performance metrics,” said Dianne Newman, CEO at RAM UK & Ireland.

Jane Ostler, Global Head of Media, Insights division at Kantar added, “In a fast-changing marketplace, the new industry narrative for digital needs to be based on real insights, not just opinion or clicks. As more advertising spend is directed to digital, brands and agencies must be ready to maximise the incredible opportunity to get into consumers’ hearts and minds. All media channels therefore need to prove their value for brands, and it’s vital that advertisers understand how their campaigns are performing.”